Mother

Arrested

After Fire

Police Say Daughters

Were Left Home Alone

DANIA — Deputies on Wednesday arrested the mother of two girls who were left home alone and started a fire while heating french fries in a microwave oven, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.

Both girls, 10 and 4, escaped from the burning apartment unharmed shortly after midnight Wednesday. Damage to the apartment was estimated at $25,000.

The mother, Mary Anderson, 26, who had left to spend the night with a boyfriend, was arrested on a charge of aggravated child abuse, the Sheriff's Office said.

If convicted as charged, Anderson could face up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Anderson, of the 1500 block of Southwest 12th Avenue, told deputies "she knew she had done wrong," according to a report. She was being held at the Broward County Jail in lieu of $3,500 bail.

"Those girls are very lucky," said their aunt, Karen Drayton, who is now caring for them. "I'm trying to make them understand it's not their fault ... They certainly should not have been left alone last night."

Deputies said Anderson left the girls alone about 10 p.m. Tuesday. After she left, the children became hungry, took some french fries out of the freezer and placed them in the microwave, said Detective Mike McDermott, of the department's Bomb and Arson Unit.

"[The 10-year-old) put it in there for a considerable amount of time, longer than you or I would put it in for, probably more than 20 minutes," McDermott said.

The children apparently forgot about the food. The 10-year-old fell asleep on the living-room floor. Her sister was asleep in the bedroom. The microwave apparently overheated in back, which ignited the kitchen wall behind it.

The 10-year-old awoke to find the kitchen filled with smoke and ran next door to a neighbor, who returned and carried the other child to safety.

There were no smoke detectors, he said.

"It's lucky she woke up, got up and was able to get out when she could," McDermott said. "This could easily have become a fatality."